Dumfries, Virginia

Dumfries is a town in Prince William County, Virginia. A Quantico Creek gristmill was built there in 1690, and a customhouse and warehouse followed in 1731. John Graham founded the 60-acre town in 1749, naming it after his birthplace of Dumfries, Scotland. It rivalled New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston as a leading port of colonial America due to its tobacco importation from the upland, and it peaked in size and importance in 1763. The American Revolutionary War, erosion and siltation, and the shifting of shipping commodities from tobacco to wheat and sugar caused the town's decline. In 2010, Dumfries had a population of 4,961 people.